classical music recommendations

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I knew someone would post the Enigma Variations sooner or later.

I wonder what Edward's hidden theme was.

I couldn't remember if it had been posted or not! I do like that each of the variations is one of his friends, and he put a dog in there.
First Variation - C.A.E.:
Elgar's wife, Alice, lovingly portrayed;
Second Variation - H.D.S-P.:
Hew David Steuart-Powell, a pianist with whom Elgar played in chamber ensembles;
Third Variation - R.B.T.:
Richard Baxter Townshend, a friend whose caricature of an old man in an amateur theatre production is captured in the variation;
Fourth Variation - W.M.B.:
William Meath Baker, 'country squire, gentleman and scholar', informing his guests of the day's arrangements;
Fifth Variation - R.P.A.:
Richard Arnold, son of the poet Matthew Arnold;
Sixth Variation - Ysobel:
Isabel Fitton, an amateur viola player from a musical family living in Malvern;
Seventh Variation - Troyte:
Arthur Troyte Griffith, a Malvern architect and close friend of Elgar throughout their lives - the variation focuses on Troyte's limited abilities as a pianist;
Eighth Variation - W.N.:
Winifred Norbury, known to Elgar through her association with the Worcestershire Philharmonic Society - the variation captures both her laugh and the atmosphere of her eighteenth century house;
Ninth Variation - Nimrod:
A J Jaeger, Elgar's great friend whose encouragement did much to keep Elgar going during the period when he was struggling to secure a lasting reputation - the variation allegedly captures a discussion between them on Beethoven's slow movements
Tenth Variation - Dorabella:
Dora Penney, daughter of the Rector of Wolverhampton and a close friend of the Elgars;
Eleventh Variation - G.R.S.:
George Sinclair, organist at Hereford Cathedral, although the variation allegedly portrays Sinclair's bulldog Dan paddling in the River Wye after falling in;
Twelfth Variation - B.G.N.:
Basil Nevinson, an amateur cellist who, with Elgar and Hew Steuart-Powell, completed the chamber music trio;
Thirteenth Variation - ***:
probably Lady Mary Lygon, a local noblewoman who sailed for Australia at about the time Elgar wrote the variation, which quotes from Mendelssohn's Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage. The use of asterisks rather than initials has however invited speculation that they conceal the identity of Helen Weaver, Elgar's fiancée for eighteen months in 1883/84 before she emigrated to New Zealand;
Fourteenth Variation - E.D.U.:
Elgar himself, Edoo being Alice's pet name for him.

Edward must have loved dogs very much.

Sergei Rachmaninoff had a HUGE dog.

Stunning. What does the OP and number mean?

Edward Elgar CD


I bought this cd btw. Every piece on it is thought provoking, to say the least.

Especially considering that Rachmaninoff was six and a half feet tall!





Opus is just a fancy way of keeping track of what number a composition it is, so this must be the 43 piece of music that Weinberg wrote.

Opus number. It's basically an identifier for classical works since most don't have conventional names like pop songs might. Often something will just be known by its number, such as "Beethoven's Op. 131".

So if there are like 15 versions of one opus, does that mean he wrote 15 versions of it or just that other artists played it in different keys?

I have the feeling there's a lurker who just listened to Elgar on the last page and thought to herself, "that sounds awfully familiar... where have I heard it before?"

The answer is that Rob Dougan used it in a remix that was featured in The Matrix.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9CEtXDWVXE[/youtube]

I am going to have to go watch the matrix again! I've seen it many times but somehow missed that!

An Opus is often a larger work with many parts, like the title of a book that has multiple chapters.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTIiE9QelxI[/youtube]

I bug my teacher about learning this as much as possible. She gets so exasperated. It's great!

Another cd I bought - like it a lot.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyhkxbrrBNw[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHr8wxlsKvI[/youtube]

As prolific and as well known as he was, I find Josepth Haydn to be criminally underlooked.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eU5KdY_04kU[/youtube]

I've always found *much* of Haydn's music to be so light and uninteresting. Yes, he does have some really good works, but on the whole he just doesn't do it for me. Same with Brahms! Things wouldn't be any fun if we all though alike though, would they?

Hm, I guess it's time for me to add my daily new stuff here...I can't let this Awake guy outdo me!

Guess what? Liszt wrote MORE than just piano music!!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLhq9rL6ZmQ[/youtube]

Have you ever heard of this guy? I hadn't until 2 days ago:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPBrFKJVZbY#![/youtube]

I want to learn to play the cello now too! I'm in love with the cello! Is 53 too old to learn?

I found a website last night that explains how they name these pieces, now I'm a little less confused.

Do you guys have any good books to recommend about listening to or understanding classical music or reading music or anything of that nature?